Fiber mixing apparatus



&292.076

M. HOFFMAN FIBER MIXING APPARTUS Aug. 4, 1942.

Filed Jan. 7, 1941 fam fa 15 Jr yxe o ffrlrr. 64.4- 6

Patented Aug. '4, 1942 FIBER MIXING APPABATUS Manfred Hoflman,Newburyport, Masa., assignor to Curtis a Mai-ble Machine Company,Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 7,1941, Serial No. 373,516

4 caims; (Cl.19-146) This invention relates to apparatus for mixing anduniformly blending fibers used in the manufacture of hats, fabrics, andother products.

It is the general object of my invention to provide improved mixingapparatus which will pro- 4 duce a continuous flow of wool; fur or otherfibers through the mixing apparatus, and continuous delivery of blendedfibers therefrom to any desired point.

A further object o! the invention is to provide mixing apparatus whichcleans the bers at the same time that they are being mixed or blended,and which efiectively removes dirt, dust and shives therefrom. v

My improved mixing apparatus is easily and economically constructed, maybe convenientiy cleaned, is readily inspected while in operation, andhas been proved highlysatisfactory in the production of exceptionailyclean uniformly blended fibers.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth inthe appended claims.

A prererred form of the invention is shown in the drawing, in which Fig1 is a sectional side elevation of my improved mixing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a sectionai plan view, taken along the line 2-2 in Flg. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified construction;and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of an illustrative fiber handling system,with my improved mixing apparatus incorporated therein.

Referring to the drawing, my improved apparatus comprises a casing Chaving a screened upper portion |0, a downwardiy converging lowerportion I i, and a collecting chamber l2.

within the casing C, I provide a fiber distributing and blendingmechanism of a commercial type, comprising a tubular distributing armmounted on a vertical shaft !I and adapted to receive fibers through aloose axiai connection from a fixed supply pipe 22. The flbers are blownthrough the supply pipe 22 and distributing arm 20 by air underpressure, and are projected from the open upper end 23 of the arm 20against the under side of a conicai defiector 24 which may be providedwith propeller -like blades on its under side. This deflector movesaround with the arm 20 and is thus held in vertical alignment with theopen end 23 of the distributlng arm. A counterweight 25 mounted onsupports 26 may be adjusted to counterbalance the rotated parts of thedistributing mechanism. Any suitable power means, such as a motor M on afixed post 20, may be provided to rotate the distributing arm 20 andassociated parts.

The specific Construction of this fiber and biending mechanism forms nopart of my present invention. Blending mechanism ot quite similarconstruction is shown in the prior patent to Truslow, No. 1,399,590,issued December 6, 1921.

My improved mixing apparatus is preferably disposed in a mixing room Rhaving a ceiling !5, floor IE, side walls IT, and a door l through whichthe room may be entered for inspection of the apparatus. A screened vent3| may be provided to keep the room R at atmospheric pressure.

The casing C may be either square or circuiar cross-section and is shownin Figs. 1 and 2 as of square section. The upper portion o isrectangular and the side walls thereof are formed of wire cloth of suchmesh that dust, dirt and shives from the wool or other iibers will passout through the wire cioth, while ali useful material will' be retainedwithin the casing. The ceiling [5 may Conveniently form the top wall ofthe screened portion [0.

Part of the air which is used to convey the wool or other fibers to themixing apparatus escapes through the screened portion Hi and tends tocarry the waste along with it and out through the wire mesh into theroom R. where it coliects on the floor and may be removed withoutstopping the machine.

The lower portion ll of the casing is preferably formed as a downwardiyconverging truncated pyramid, with side members 30 hinged at :I to thelower edges of the screen portion !0, and with the lower edges of theside members converging around the upper edges of the collecting chamber!2.

Any suitable i'astening devices such as slotted arms 32 and pins 33(Fig. 1), may be provided for holding the side members 30 in theoperative relation shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By removing the pins 33, theside members 30 may be 'swung freeiy outward to give access to theinterior of the casing C for cleaning or other purposes.

The joints between the side members 30 and also between the lower edgesof each side member and the associated upper edge of the collectingchamber 12 are preferably left somewhat open, so that additional wastemay drop out as the blended flbers move downward toward the collectingchamber.

The side members 30 may be formed of any suitable smooth, sheetmaterial, such as steel, copper or fiber. The wire cloth in` thescreened portion o should present as smooth a surface as possible sothat the flbers will not catch or lodge thereon. One or more glasswindows, as 35, may be inserted in the lower casing portion I l topermit inspectionof the interior of the apparatus during operation.

A clearing device or agitator 40 may be pivotally supported at its lowerend on the post 28 and may be connected at its upper end to thecounterweight supports 26, so that the agitator will rotate with thetubular distributing arm 20 and will thus dislodge the blended fibersfrom the sides or corners of the casing and will assist their downwardmovement to the collecting chamber l2. While use of the agitator isdesirable, the machine is entirely operative if no agitator is provided.

In Fig. 4 I have shown my improved mixing apparatu's included in a fibrehandling system comprisin an opener 50 having a hopper 5l to which woolor other fibers may be delivered through a pipe 52 by a fan 53. Afterthe fibers have been opened in the usual manner in the machine 50, theyare delivered through a pipe 55 and fan 56 to the fixed pipe 22previously described and are conducted thereby to the distributing arm20 on the blending mechanism. The collecting member l2 at the bottom ofthe mixing apparatus is connected by a pipe 60, a fan sl and pipe 62 to'a storage room 63, or the fibe's may be forwarded from the pipe 62 tosuccessive machines if so desired.

It will be understood that the fiber handling system shown in Fig. 4 isillustrative only and that my improved apparatus is adapted for use inmany other combinations.

An important advantage of my improved apparatus lies in the fact that itcan be thus incorporated in a continuously Operating system and that thefibers will be thoroughly mixed and blended and will be continuouslydelivered through the pipes 50 and 62, all without personal attention byan operator.

This is an important improvement over such mixing arrangements as aredisclosed in the Truslow patent, in which the blended fibers collect inthe bottom of the chamber in which the mixing takes place and must bemanually removed therefrom after stopping the apparatus.

In Fig. 3 I have suggested a modified casing Construction in which thescreened upper portion is cylindrical and the lower portion is circularin cross section and presents the appearance of a truncated cone ratherthan a truncated pyramid. The operation and advantages are the same asin the form previously described, but with the additional advantagesthat there are no corners and that the agitator will move around theconical lower casing with uniform clearance.

In cases where only cleaned stock is to be blended, the upper portion Ioof the casing may be imperforate and the separate parts of the lowerportion ll may be closely joined. Or, if found advisable, the upperportion IO could be made continuous with the sides of the lower portionll, which could be continued to the ceiling, either in a conical orpyramidal form.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not,wish to be limited to the details, herein disclosed, otherwise than asset forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. In a fiber mixing apparatus having a rotatable fiber-distributing andblending device, means to supply flbers to said device and means torotate said device about a fixed axis, that improvement which comprisesa casing for said blending device having an enclosing upper portion, adownwardly converging lower portion, a 'collecting chamber below saidlower portion, and means to agitate the fiber in said converging portionand to thereby advance said fiber to said collecting chamber.

2. In a fiber mixing apparatus having a rotatable fiber-distributing andblending device, means to supply fibers to said device and means torotate said device about a fixed axis, that improvement which comprisesa casing for said blending device having a screened upper portion, aside wall structure forming the lower portion of said casing, acollecting chamber below said side wall structure, means to continuouslyremove blended fibers from said collecting chamber, and means to agitateand feed downward the blended fibers within said lower portion of saidcasing.

3. In a fiber mixing apparatus having a rotatable fiber-distributing andblending device, means to supply fibers to said device and means torotate said device about a fixed axis, that improvement which comprisesa casing for said blending device having a screened upper portion, afibercollecting chamber, side walls hinged at their top edges to saidupper portion and having their lower edges positioned adjacent the edgesof said collecting chamber, and means to continuously remove blendedfibers from said collecting chamber, said side walls when in operativerelation being slightly spaced at their edges from each other and fromsaid collecting chamber to provide additional egress for dirt and wastefrom said apparatus.

4. An apparatus for mixing and blending fibers, comprising fiberdistributing and blending mechanism including pneumatic means forsupplying fiber under pressure and means adjacent the outlet of saidpneumatic means fordefiecting the fibers :downwardly, a screensurrounding said mechanism adapted to permit escape of air and finewaste material, and a downwardly converging casing for receiving theuseful fibers from said deflecting means, said casing terminating in acollecting chamber of reduced cross sectional area, and means forcontinuously removing fiber from said collecting chamber, saiddefiecting means being offset laterally with respect to the central axisof the collecting chamber, whereby the fibers from said deflectorimpinge upon the sloping wall of said receiving casing and are guidedthereby to the collecting chamber, the receiving chamber being in theform of an inverted truncated pyramid comprising a plurality of flatside wall members, and at least one of said side wall members beingseparately movable from operative position as a section of thedownwardly and inwardly inclined wall of said receiving casing, to allowaccess to the interior of said casing and to facilitate cleaningthereof.

MANFRED HOFFMAN.

